Time has finally come for performance audits
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Most taxpayers, we suspect, share a nagging feeling that somewhere, somehow, government is wasting their money. And despite improvements in fiscal discipline by some local governments – Snohomish County and the City of Everett come to mind – there’s little doubt that such feelings are justified.
Taxpayers deserve to know that their dollars are being spent wisely and effectively, that state and local governments are getting maximum bang out of every buck.
Independent performance audits of government agencies and programs offer the best chance of assuring that happens. State Auditor Brian Sonntag, a Democrat, has been campaigning for performance audits since he took office 12 years ago. His call has been supported by most conservatives, but has yet to make it into law.
That may be about to change. Tim Eyman’s initiative factory this week filed Initiative 900, which would authorize the state auditor to conduct independent, comprehensive performance audits of state and local governments, agencies and programs. The conservative Evergreen Freedom Foundation is pushing a performance audit bill in the Legislature, giving lawmakers their own chance to put real government accountability into play. If they don’t seize it, voters may do it for them.
Eyman’s initiative would set aside 0.01 percent of existing state sales tax revenue – approximately $10 million a year – to pay for performance audits. The auditor would decide who gets audited – state agencies, transit agencies, counties, cities, school districts, public facilities districts, etc. Just the possibility of a performance audit, Sonntag and Eyman agree, likely would lead to improved government efficiency.
Sonntag would prefer a legislative solution that is limited to state government. He doesn’t believe a state office should be helping to manage a local agency. But mechanisms for measuring the effectiveness of local and regional governments are few, and the state auditor has the expertise to do it fairly. A comprehensive performance audit of an agency like Sound Transit would help voters decide whether to approve taxes for further transit expansion.
Many local governments have been in cut-back mode for years, squeezed by tax-cutting initiatives, rising health-care costs for employees and a sour economy. Performance audits will force them to examine more closely than ever whether some services can be scaled back or privatized, whether they overlap with other programs, even whether the need they were established to meet still exists. These are exercises private businesses go through constantly to remain competitive, and their principles can work just as well in government, lessening the need to raise taxes.
Independent, effective performance audits work in other states, and they’re overdue here. Whether by legislation or initiative, we hope they’re finally on their way.
